


Caterwaul

by UnclePotoos



Category: DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Robots, Temporary Character Death, Trans Noiz, slow build relationship, some blood and violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-26
Updated: 2015-10-06
Packaged: 2018-04-23 11:06:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4874368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnclePotoos/pseuds/UnclePotoos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Noiz was never one to be too careful with himself, but that never meant he was never prepared for the worst. After making a fatal mistake trying the find Aoba and Koujaku, he must enlist the help of Clear, the masked man with more hiding than his face, to find his way back onto his feet and figure out what all is really going on in Platinum Jail.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Craziness

**Author's Note:**

> This was an idea I came up with a bit ago but I'm finally getting this first chapter out. Hope you like it!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even enemies can find some common ground in the midst of insanity

This had easily been one of the craziest day Noiz had had since he found his way out of Germany, and that in itself had been it’s own hellstorm.

Secret organizations, mind control powers, and on top of all of it he had found himself strung up in some kinda of loosely constructed plan to infiltrate Platinum Jail and confront the big bad. It felt like something he’d maybe come up with in some wacked up dream, and he’d pinch himself if he would even be able to feel it to check to see if he wasn’t sleeping. That saying had always been lost to him. No matter how many times he closed his eyes and tried to see if he’d wake up in his apartment, he’d always find himself staring up at the dark ceiling above the couch in Aoba’s living room where he’d crashed. Guess it wasn’t a dream after all.

Not like he really cared whether or not this was a dream. If it was, then he’d just go on the next day like nothing had happened. But since it wasn’t, he’d play along with it, just to see how far they’d all go. 

He couldn’t honestly imagine Aoba breaking into such a place on his own, but when Noiz thought back on the history he had dug up on him, maybe there was more to him then he let on. Koujaku, he definitely wouldn’t be up to it. Probably break his hip hoping over a fence or something. Maybe his compensation stick would through him off balance running away from someone, or whatever. The jail-breaker wouldn’t have trouble getting inside, most likely. If he had to guess, the man probably already had men in there. It would honestly surprise Noiz if he didn’t. He was much older then any of them, but clearly he had much more experience with all of this, and Noiz wasn’t even close to stupid enough to think he could stand long in a fight with the guy. Koujaku was. Eh, maybe not, but it’d be funny to watch him try.

But the guy in the gas mask, Clear… he didn’t know quite what to make of him. It wasn’t a question of whether the guy was physically capable, That was already obvious to Noiz, and the events of earlier that day just confirmed what he had learned a while back. But Clear was like a little kid, unfocused, too bubbly, not someone you’d want to take on anything requiring stealth. He was smart, in his own odd way, but maybe it was just a lucky break with the map he drew and have a good enough memory of the area for it. He said he lived there in the dump, which surprised Noiz only to an extent, so it made sense that he’d know.

Noiz sat up on the couch, rubbing his eyes as he tried to settle his racing thoughts. There was so much whizzing around, unfiltered and cluttered. It was annoying to think on his own, and the house was just too damn quiet for him to be comfortable. His own place was in the busier part of town, and he had grown accustom to the constant noise, even if it was hushed. Out here in the Residential District was much calmer, and too reminiscent of another time for him to enjoy it.

As Noiz unlocked his coil screen, he finally heard a noise from the main hall. Footsteps, soft but definitely there, like someone was pacing. Thinking back on what he remembered near the end of the night, Mink was the only one Noiz knew for sure left. He could recall him walking silently out the door without notifying his leave. Clear vanished to somewhere, but exactly where Noiz wasn’t sure. He did go through the veranda once, so it wasn’t that crazy to think maybe he’d done it again. Aoba’s grandma wouldn’t likely be up at this late hour. She seemed pretty old, and old people didn’t stay up too late from his recollection.

So that left the lovebirds. Noiz knew that Aoba had gone up to his room, or at least the footsteps he heard earlier above him told him so, and he never heard anyone go down the stairs. They were fairly creaky, and he would have been surprised had he missed it. Just part of the personality of the old architecture. So that meant…

Before he could even work out all the possibilities, Noiz heard a distinctive huff from where the footsteps came. It was one he had heard multiple times in the street, never absent when the familiar man found him aggravating enough to go annoy for a few minutes, even more if Noiz picked a fight on purpose. Koujaku was fun to poke at. He was easy to work up, it didn’t take much to get him to throw a punch or two and get things going. 

But there was something a little different about it this time. Much less angry, much more tired, and something else too but he couldn’t place and quite frankly didn’t care enough to figure it out. Probably more appropriate to call it a sigh, if Noiz felt like getting technical.

It made sense, though. It was a long day for all of them, especially for Aoba, and Noiz wasn’t blind to how close those two were. He didn’t understand it, but Koujaku always seemed to be right there next to the guy, and he was by far the most involved in the conversation that went on after they all sat down earlier. That save Mink who sat in the next room, but Noiz didn’t want to put any unnecessary energy into fretting over the guy. He could do what he was gonna do, even if he had to be an ass about it.

Noiz tried to get back to his coil, flicking between screen after screen until he gave up trying to do whatever he was doing and flopped back against the couch. It was less supportive then what he was used to. Noiz shifted around until he laid so that his feet point towards the door leading out into the hallway. Should anyone pass by that partially open slide, he would be the first to greet them. That was if he didn’t fall asleep by then. He wasn’t exactly tired, but it was probably a good idea to at least try to sleep.

Eventually the pacing stopped, evident by the quiet creaking of the stairwell that made Noiz guess that Koujaku finally gave up what he was thinking about and crashed there. He kind of missed the soft footsteps in the background. They cut provided some kind of cut through the silence.

Part of Noiz considered getting up and offering the guy the couch. He wouldn’t mind sleeping on the floor or something, and that guy had to be tired by this point. It was definitely past his 9 o’clock bed time. Plus the stairs couldn’t be the best place to knock out for the night. But as he started to seriously considering getting up from his spot, he heard a stirring in the floor above him that instinctively made him pause.

He relaxed when he realized they were another set of footsteps, likely Aoba not being able to sleep either. Noiz figured the events from today were probably having the same effect on all of them. Too many thoughts whizzing around from anyone to figure out how to get to sleep. 

He was surprised, when thinking on it, that Aoba hadn’t stirred earlier. He sure got dumped with a lot of information in one sitting. Even Noiz was overwhelmed.

The quiet creaking of the stairwell brought back in his attention, and soft words cut through the night form the hall. Even somewhat muffled, Noiz could pick up that it was the lovebirds’ voices.

He couldn’t tell what they were saying, a few words here and there were somewhat audible, but he could pick up some of the tone throughout the conversation. There was calm, then a little bit of anger, or maybe Koujaku was just being stern, and then Aoba feel very quiet. Even from the next room, Noiz could clearly hear the stammer in Koujaku’s muffles as he was probably apologizing for whatever he said.

And then Koujaku kept talking, and talking. The guy could really run his mouth. It was lucky for him that he had a nice voice, cause he could definitely get annoying real quick if he didn’t. It was soothing, in a very weird way, kinda like liquid caramel. Thick and warm.

They talked for a good while, mostly Koujaku, and then he heard that familiar sigh again and what seemed to be an exchange of goodbyes soon following up. Steps went back up the stairs, and soon after the remaining person stood up from them. An educated guess told Noiz that it was Koujaku still one the first floor, and he was confirmed when soft footsteps walked away from the stairs and came into the living room. It was pretty dark, but Noiz’s eyes had long since adjusted to the lack of light. It wasn’t hard to see how tired the man looked as he hovered in the doorway. He didn’t seem to notice he was alone either.

“Hey,” Noiz said, cutting through the darkness.

“Gah!” Koujaku yelped in surprise. “Who’s there-“

“You’re loud, old man,” Noiz cut in, not in the mood to hear him yelling and waking up the neighborhood.

Koujaku seemed very aggravated as he looked around for Noiz. Quickly he located him and glared down at him on the couch. He sighed, still looking annoyed, but like he just didn’t have the energy into making that clear.

“What’re you doing here?” he asked, his voice rimmed with exhaustion.

“What’re you doing here?” Noiz retorted.

“I asked you first.”

“Asking second doesn’t mean I can’t get an answer first.”

Koujaku didn’t seem to be amused by this as he scowled. “Don’t be a brat. It’s been a long day.”

Noiz ignored him and sat up on the far side of the couch, rolling his neck to free him of the kinks that had formed in it. He glanced up after a few moments and asked, “Want the couch?”

The scowled that had formed on the man’s face didn’t levitate in the slightest at the offer. Koujaku seemed quite content for the moment to continue glaring down at Noiz, as if trying to read him in the dark. But the other already had a much better read on him. He was tired and wanted to sleep. Even the lack of intensity in the glared showed that.

“You’re still avoiding the question,” Koujaku finally said.

Noiz shrugged, “I didn’t feel like leaving.”

The man glared for a few moments longer before drawing a heavy sighing and sitting down. Koujaku sank back into the couch, exhaling deeply as he tipped his head back against the cushion. Noiz figured the man was just too tired to deal with his snarky responses, or maybe he agreed with them. He didn’t particularly care which it was.

“All of this,” Koujaku started after they sat in silence for a while. “It’s insane.”

Noiz hummed in agreement before letting the man continued. “Aoba’s ability… I don’t understand how something like that can even happen. What he did to Mizuki, I know he didn’t mean to. He would never do that on purpose, but, still…”

He fell quiet, and Noiz waited for him to finish his thought, but for the first time he believed maybe the guy was at a loss for words.

“Think maybe he could have done it to you?” Noiz prompted, expecting Koujaku to huff and claim that Aoba would never do such a thing to him, saying he was just being stupid to suggest that.

“…something like that,” he finally admitted as he sat up and hunched forwarded, hands dangling between his legs as he leaned on his elbows and hung his head.

Noiz looked over at Koujaku, surprised by the response he provided, and saw something else that left him curious. It was barely just a flash, but for a moment, Noiz couldn’t see the big, intimidating man he had come to ridicule and push into fighting. Koujaku actually looked rather small and worn, maybe from stress and worry from the day, or maybe it was something that had begun a long time ago for him. 

Noiz was intrigued by it, but he wasn’t in the mood to have a heart-to-heart with some guy he used to get a good fight in when the desire arose. Noiz stood up from the couch, stirring the other to look up. 

“I thought you didn’t feel like leaving?” Koujaku asked.

“I’m just going for a walk.”

“You know your way around here enough to find your way back in the dark?” 

The question was valid, but Noiz couldn’t help but crack a small smile in the dark.

“Worried about me getting lost?” Noiz teased, which caused the man to chuckle, surprisingly enough.

“The roads here are fairly twisty. Even I get lost sometimes.”

“I’ll get by,” he replied, walking out of the living room and heading for the front door. As he slipped on his shoes, he felt eyes on him. Looking back over to the couch, he found Koujaku staring at him, fingers fiddling with his bangs and look of uncertainty in his eye.

“What?” Noiz asked, a little annoyed with how obvious it was the man was debating between speaking up or not. Why did people have to be so indecisive about things?

Koujaku awkwardly looked away before he asked, "I told Aoba that I wasn't afraid if him, and I'm not; I know I'm not."

The statement hung between them as silence fell, making the air tense.

"So you lied to the both of you?"

Koujaku pursed his lips, like the idea didn't settle right with him.

"Aoba's scared of that… Scrap thing… whatever it is," Koujaku started. "He doesn't have any control over it, and I know that that's freaking him out. I know him. He wouldn't want to put anyone in danger because of himself. He's selfish like that, wanting to do everything himself and not bother anyone. That's just a part of who he is. He'd go off into Platinum Jail on his own if someone didn't stop him."

As Koujaku rambled, Noiz gave up his endeavor to leave, pulling off his shoes and returning to the living room. He leaned back against the doorframe, folding his arms up against his chest as he took a slow breath and gave his attention to the man. Noiz realized then that he hadn't been home in the past day. He figured he probably smelled a bit.

"That'd be a dumb idea," Noiz commented dryly, to which Koujaku gave a huffy laugh.

"I know, but there's nothing wrong with that. Not wanting to hurt people, I mean. It can get him into trouble sometimes, but it's just because he cares about people a lot."

The man looked up at Noiz, meeting his eyes for a few moments. They looked lost, like Koujaku was searching for something but didn't know where it was it what exactly it was. It was dark though. Things looked awfully different without light.

Koujaku sighed as his eyes fell again. "I just wished he wouldn't have such a difficult time asking for help."

"Maybe he doesn't want help," Noiz threw out.

"Sometimes you do need help though. You can't do everything on your own."

"If that's your philosophy," Noiz said, uncaringly.

"That's a fact," Koujaku said sternly. "What, you think you can just do everything by yourself too?"

"I already do."

Koujaku rolled his eyes. This brat was just getting on his nerves, but it was late, so he didn't have the energy to properly deal with him.

"But you head a Rhyme team, and leaders rely on their followers. That's not 'doing everything by yourself' as far as I'm aware."

"You don't know how I do things.”

Koujaku’s nostrils began to flare, his frustrations riling him up quickly. This guy...

"Look," the man growled. "This is stupid, and I don't want to argue about it. I don't give a shit if you don't need help, but Aoba does. Even you said you thought it was a dumb idea for him to go off on his own-"

"He'd get himself killed," Noiz cut in, causing Koujaku to stumble over his words as he grimaced.

"No, he wouldn't, well, I don't think ... well maybe, but that's jumping to the worst possible scenario. He'd definitely get himself into trouble though. He needs my help in there."

"What makes you think it's your help he needs?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Noiz shrugged, really not too into the conversation but not so much in the mood to just walk away from it and piss off Koujaku.

"You're a hairdresser."

"Yeah, and I also head Benishingure. You think I can't handle myself against some corporate asshole just because I style hair for a living?"

"You're a gang of boy scouts..."

Koujaku glared at Noiz, not quite getting whatever reference he made. He assumed it wasn't any sort of kind one, but better to just ignore it than dwell upon it.

"Why do you even care about this anyway," Koujaku asked, still agitated. "You're an isolated tech manic. You don't have anything to gain from all of this."

"I'm not a maniac. Aoba owes me a rematch."

The man's eyes flew open in surprise. "You're putting yourself at risk so you can play another game with a guy who kicked your ass last time, and he didn't even know what to do then?"

Noiz nodded. "I want to know how he beat me."

Koujaku sighed, exasperated, as he leaned back against the couch.

"You are too much," Koujaku stated, slowly punctuating each syllable. 

This fucking guy. There was just no limit to his ridiculous logic. Any time he seemed to open his mouth, more bullshit seemed to pour out.

Noiz gave up his lean on the doorframe and finally walked back into the living room, opting to crash in an armchair across from the sofa. He sunk into it much like he had with the other one, the similar supportless cushion. It was fine for tonight. He stretched out and settled himself into the chair in little time.

Koujaku stirred when he heard Noiz move. As much as he just wanted to go to sleep, something was still bugging him. Sure, it was just Noiz being Noiz, but even that didn't sit well with him. The guy was so standoffish. It didn't makes sense, unless Nois really didn't quite care about any this besides what he could get out of it. Did one rematch really mean that much to the guy?

The sat in silence for a long time, neither one able to fall asleep. Koujaku couldn't even get himself to lie down. Noiz rested in the chair, slowing coming to the realization that the couch had been more comfortable than this. He was stubborn, and didn't want to get up.

For a little bit, Noiz thought that he might actually get to sleep, that was until some car outside passed by at an alarming speed and startled him awake. He sat up with a jolt, only to realize a few moments that what happened. He felt stupid, getting jumpy over some passerby car. He was irritated a himself, so much that it took a little bit to realize that Koujaku was chuckling on the couch.

"What's so funny," Noiz demanded.

"Sorry, sorry," Koujaku apologized with a smile and a wave. "I just didn't see you as the jumpy type."

"I'm not."

"Well it sure looked like it then."

Noiz narrowed his glare at him. "Shut up, old man."

Now was Koujaku's turn to glare. "You know, I don't like being called that."

"I know," Noiz said as he sat back down. "That's why I do it."

"How old are you anyway?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"I'm just curious," Koujaku answered with a scowl. "I can't be that's much older than you."

"You're twenty-seven," Noiz said.

"Yeah, I know that," Koujaku replied. "Wait, how did you... never mind."

Noiz relaxed back into the chair, head tilted up to the ceiling. "So you're older than me."

"Well I would've been shocked if I wasn't more of the adult in the situation." Noiz could just feel his irritation boring into him. It was fairly amusing. "I bet you're around Aoba's age, or maybe a little older."

"I'm ninteen," Noiz said after a good bit of silence.

“…what was that?"

"I said I'm ninteen. Already having hearing problems?"

Silence followed, most likely of the stunned variation. It was funny, at first, but after a bit it just started to get awkward. Noiz was waiting for some kind of reaction out of the man.

"Well?" Noiz peek up from his spot, peering over at Koujaku, who as it turned out was staring right back at him.

"Y-you're just a kid," the man finally stuttered out.

"Technically, I'm an adult-"

"What the hell are you doing?"

Noiz hadn't expected the sudden stern tone to cut him off. He sat up slowing, looking the other man in the eye as he straightened out. It didn't seem as if Koujaku was going to lash out at him, as usual, but he was definitely angry.

"Excuse me?"

"You're just a kid. Why are you out here putting your life at risk? Why are you getting yourself into all of this?"

"I don't like to be questioned," Noiz answered, to which Kiujaku didn't even look phased.

"I don't care. Go home. Get involved in something less dangerous, like college or whatever it is you people do adays."

"Are you really trying to boss me around?"

"I'm trying to help you not fuck up your life more than you've probably already have."

Noiz had to roll his eyes at the statement. This guy was unbelievable.

"I already told you I didn't feel like going home."

"Well you better start feeling like it."

"Or what," Noiz asked, keeping his voice calm and cool as Koujaku became more stern. "You gonna kick me out? Drag me home? Force me to leave and pretend none of this happened?"

Finally, Koujaku fell silent, to which Noiz thanked the universe.

"You guys need me," he continued. "You need a hacker in there, like it or not. Brute force and a short temper isn't going to get you far."

Koujaku drew his lip and looked away. He wasn't a man who liked to be proved wrong, especially not by some bratty kid who what probably in way over his head.

"I don't want some kid's blood on my hands if something goes wrong in there," Koujaku said, not looking over.

"You don't need to worry about me getting hurt. I wouldn't let it be anyone else's fault."

"No, you're still a kid. If you got hurt, that'd be on me, just like if Aoba got hurt."

"Why is Aoba suddenly your responsibility," Noiz questioned.

"I... um..."

Apparently Koujaku hadn't been expecting that, as it took him a few moments to come up with an actually response.

"He just is. He's always been my responsibility."

"Why?"

"I just told you, because he just is."

"That's not a valid reason."

"Well not feeling like going home isn't a valid reason either for putting your life at risk."

Noiz glared back at the man. They were in a stand off, though both were too tired to really be able to argue against one another well. Mostly just squinted staring and pouted lips.

It didn't last long, as Noiz began to yawn. He was tired, and the arguing had helped calm his thoughts to the point that he was pretty sure he could pass out fine.

"I'm going to sleep," Noiz said as he suddenly dropped his head back.

"W-what?" Koujaku replied, rather caught off guard by Noiz's sudden drop of the argument at hand.

"You know, tucker out. Go to bed. Good night. That kind of thing."

"Oh."

There was a short period of silence, and then Noiz could hear Koujaku moving around on the couch, most likely laying down. It took the man a while before he seemed to settle down, constantly shifting slightly or readjusting. It wasn't annoying, but Noiz definitely noticed it as he was drifting off.

"Good night."

"Good night," Noiz replied, just before falling asleep.

\----

The morning was a blur. Suddenly Noiz was awake and there was a lot of yelling. They were running and he knew they were being followed. He didn't know exactly why but he had his guesses. Someone suggested spilling up and next thing Noiz knew he was running down an alley. He swore he heard Koujaku calling after Aoba but he wasn't all too sure. It wouldn't surprise him.

He didn't even realize he was having a hard time breathing until he slowed up his mad dash once he felt like he wasn’t being followed anymore. Noiz let himself relax as he ducked into an alley and activated his coil. His brows raised in surprise when he read his current location, which was far from Aoba’ home. It made sense with how much trouble he was having breathing, though. 

Dropping his arm, Noiz leaned back against the brick wall, not paying mind to how much grim he was most likely resting back on. He just wanted to catch his breath and get back on things. As he closed his eyes, he contemplated exactly what he’d do now.

Trying to locate Aoba wouldn’t be too hard to do. He could follow him and quite possibly catch up with him if the guy wasn’t too far away. But as he thought about what would happen once he did get to him, he found some hesitation. Sure, he could follow the plan. Break inside. Find Toue. Deal with this whole craziness and get things taken care of so that he could have his rematch with Aoba.

But Koujaku’s words from the night before decided to reappear in his mind. The guy had a point, one he was already well aware of but didn’t ever expect someone else to concern over. Of course it was dangerous, but why did he care? If Noiz got hurt then he got hurt. Same old same old. It wasn’t too much of a problem anyway.

Noiz shook off his swirling thoughts as he shoved his hands and walked back into the narrow street. He tired and honestly wanted to rest for a bit before trying to figure out his next step. His head felt groggy and he didn’t like to charge ahead into things without some form of plan, and currently he just didn’t have the energy to do so.

With slow steps he trudged back to his apartment, guided by the neon signs he could recall during his previous trek to Aoba’s home. His own place wasn’t too far away, and from what he could tell the people pursuing him either gave up their chase or didn’t follow him in the first place. Which ever it was he didn’t care too much. 

All it really meant was that he didn’t need to concern himself with any surprises for the rest of the morning. He couldn’t get pulled into a Drive By and no one tended to bother him in the first place, so he let his guard down slightly as he let his eyelids fall shut and he took a deep breath of the city air. Besides the earlier chaos, it was actually a fairly nice morning, just to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! Please leave a kudos or a comment about what you thought about it.
> 
> I promise this is a NoiCle fic, not a KouNoi fic. It's all part of the set up. Craziness will start happening real soon and Clear will finally make his debut next chapter. I promise!


	2. "Noiz-san!"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I did promise Clear would appear very soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally we are going to get into some interaction between Noiz and Clear. If some things feel weird in what happens, I swear, its supposed to be like that (unless I messed up then forgive me). I have a plan for what's gonna happen with all this.

"Noiz-sssaaaaaaannn!!!"

He didn't even know the man with upon him until he was literally upon him.

There was a yell from above, and by the time Noiz looked up, a dark shape quickly came down on him. Suddenly his face met the concrete, and everything briefly went dark. He had an idea of pain from Rhyme, but he knew that if he could feel it like everyone else could, he would probably be in a lot of it.

"Ohh! I'm so sorry Noiz-san!" Clear apologized in a flurry as he jumped up from on top of him. "I didn't mean to fall on you!"

Noiz waved his hand, though it felt a little stiff as he moved. He imagined he'd soon be covered in bruises as he pulled himself up. He had felt the impact of the ground when the other crashed into him, so he figured there’d been a lot of force to the impact. Or Clear was just heavy. Or both.

"Are you okay?? I'm so sorry I didn't mean to-"

Noiz held up his hand to stop Clear. His head felt weird and he wanted a moment of quiet for it to go away. He rubbed his temples, a maneuver he'd taught himself to do in times past when his head felt odd like this. It helped clear the dizziness quicker. 

Clear responded as he'd wished, falling silent and waiting patiently with his mask's looming goggles staring at him. It was a strange contrast to the man's personality. Clear was so big and overly friendly in everything he seemed to do, like a little kid, but the mask... it was creepy. Made Noiz wonder what exactly was underneath.

"What do you want?" He wasn't in the mood to deal with this guy, so he hoped it was something small so he could leave soon.

“It’s Master and Koujaku-san!”

So they did run off together. Not surprisingly. “What about them?”

“They went off on their own! We need to catch up with them.”

Noiz shrugged. “I don’t think the old man really wants my help.”

“Huh?” Like a small dog, Clear tilted his head. It might have been cute, but the mask kinda killed it for Noiz. “But you’re so smart. Of course he does.”

“I don’t think that matters to him.”

Noiz tried to walk on, but a sudden firm grip on his wrist held him in place. He couldn't feel it, but he knew it was there.

He turned back and spit, “Oi-“

“Master still needs your help though,” Clear said sternly.

He wasn’t quite expecting to hear such a serious tone from the guy, it was light and not to different from is usual self, but it was different. It had level of honest concern that Noiz didn’t real expect from Clear, a maturity he didn’t seem to possess. He was an interesting one. 

It made Noiz pause, and for a brief moment he rethought his idea to abandon all of this in his irritation. Clear had a point, they needed him. They needed everyone, probably. They had little idea what they’d find inside. Maybe things would go smoothly, but maybe not. They all could get killed, walking into an ambush or something. He had no idea. It’d be more likely the latter if he wasn’t there.

He still ripped his hand away.

“Don’t touch me.”

“But Noiz-san-“

“Koujaku made it very clear that he didn’t want me to be a part of this,” Noiz growled as he stared the other down.

“Maybe he’s scared you’ll get hurt. Koujaku-san seems very like a very caring person."

He was mad. Mad at Koujaku for thinking he could boss him around like he was some snot-nosed kid that couldn’t take care of himself in a tough situation. Mad at Aoba for not letting him face him again in Rhyme. Mad at Mink because why the hell not. Mad at Clear for being so damn hunky dory about everything goddamn thing and somehow making him rethink himself. Lastly, he was mad at himself for not being able to block out this feeling of conflict he had.

“I don’t give a shit if that guy is worried if I get roughed up. He just doesn’t want me apart of this. Don’t believe me, then go ask him yourself. See if I care if they get themselves killed in there. Not my problem anyway. I’ve got better things to do then this.”

Noiz stormed off before Clear could get another word in. He didn't now if he even tried to, but he didn't pursue, for whatever reason. Maybe he finally took the hint.

Hands shoved deep into his pockets and head low, Noiz barely noticed where he was even going until he realized he had made it to his apartment building. It felt like moments for him to get inside and into his place. He didn’t even pause as he stripped himself of all his clothes on his way to the bathroom. He just wanted a bath.

He only really got out of his raging fog when he realized that the tub was overfilling onto the floor, and he still couldn’t feel the water around him. It just felt different to move. It never really bothered him before, so he didn’t understand why he suddenly felt upset. It didn’t make sense to him. He didn’t realize there were tears running down his face until he felt a saltiness on his tongue.

\----

Noiz nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a rapping at his balcony door.

"Hello Noiz-san!" Clear yelled through the door as he waved. Noiz could just imagine there being a massive grin on his most likely doofy face.

He briefly considered saying several things, some which felt inappropriate in front of someone so childlike, but he figured it didn't really matter how Clear managed to get up here, on his balcony, many stories high. 

Shutting off his coil and setting down the block he'd been working on, Noiz got up from his couch and walked up to the man behind the glass. "What do you want?"

"We need to go look for Master and Koujaku-san! I haven't heard Master ever since they went inside that place."

Noiz sighed and shook his head. "Koujaku doesn't want my help. That hasn't changed in the past few days and it isn't going to change. Leave me alone."

"But Noiz-san! They could be hurt!"

"Do I look like I care?"

"Why wouldn't you??"

Noiz stared at him, conflicted once again, but now between whether to let Clear say whatever spiel he was most likely to give, or tell him to piss off and close the blinds. He probably wouldn't leave though. Maybe he'd even go as far as to use the front door.

Knowing he'd probably regret it, Noiz unlatched the door and pulled it open. "Don't yell. It's annoying."

"Oh, thank you!"

Clear slipped on inside, quickly acquainting himself with the space. Noiz resumed his place back on the couch and hoped the man wouldn't be too distracting. He hadn't realized he'd blocked him out until Clear said something.

"Huh?" Noiz said, not really caring about the response.

"Your place is so nice!" Clear chimed. "Everything's very neat and organized and shiny!"

Noiz shrugged as he altered some coding on a program he'd pulled up on his coil. "It's home."

He focused back into what he was doing. He'd finished this project a while back, but this addition he figured would be a good last minute idea. As he continued to configure the program to one of his *Betamates, he found himself aware of Clear sitting on the floor, right in front of him. He made no point to make the other aware that he was aware of his presence nearby.

"What are you working on?" Clear asked after a long time of silence between the two.

"Something." Noiz answered, not looking up from his screens.

"What is it?"

"It's confidential."

Clear clapped his hands together in excitement. "I love secrets! Tell me!"

Noiz glanced up for a moment, and then continued to type. "No."

"I promise I won't tell anyone! I'm really good at keeping secrets. Please!"

"No."

Clear fell quiet, grumbling something Noiz couldn't quite pick up, though he didn't make much of an effort to listen. As he continued to work, the man seemed content to sit still as he did. The longer he remained like that, the harder it was for Noiz to stay focused on his project. It just got his attention and was a bit unnerving. He didn't like being watched, even if there was little chance Clear had any idea what all the text and data added up to.

After it felt like a few hours, as the light fell dark outside and the night began, Noiz dropped his screens and fell back against the couch. He was nearly done, but he couldn't work anymore. The configuration was harder then he thought it'd be and he was missing something. He knew it, but he didn't quite know what.

"Did you finish, Noiz-san?"

Noiz exhaled loudly, absentmindedly playing with a screwdriver between his fingers. "No, but I'm close."

"Will you come with me to Platinum Jail when you do?"

And finally the pieces came together.

Noiz glanced down at the man and asked, "Is that why you've been sitting there this whole time?"

"Yes!"

“Then no."

"But Noiz-san! They need you!"

"I know that."

"Then please come with me!"

Noiz stood up from the couch and loomed over the other. “I'll do what I want to. Don't think you can boss me around."

"But I'm not!"

Clear shot up and immediately went to clasp Noiz's hand.

"Please they-"

"I SAID DON’T TOUCH ME!!"

He ripped his hand away with great force, probably more then at all was necessary. Clear cried out and backed off, to Noiz's relief. The man was slowly getting better at doing what he'd prefer him to do, though his reaction was more dramatic then Noiz'd wished it was. Then he relaxed the fist he'd pulled away, and realized something had been in it as the item dropped to the floor with a dull thud.

He forgot he had his screwdriver still in his hand. That was why Clear was quietly stuttering apologies and holding his hand close to himself. Why his normally pristine white glove looked mangled and was splattered with something dark. 

He'd accidentally sliced Clear's hand.

Noiz didn’t know what to do but wait for Clear to make some kind of move. Sure, he hurt him, but the man overstepped his boundary. That was his mistake and this was the consequence, accidental as it was or not. At least he was able to feel the pain, or at least feel it at all. Lucky bastard.

Clear held his hand for a while, sniffling softly as he carefully massaged it.

“Are you afraid of being touched?” he asked shyly, still holding his hand close to his chest and not meeting Noiz's gaze. At least that was what it seemed like with the mask on. In all honesty, it was impossible to tell.

“No,” Noiz answered. “I just don’t like it.”

“Does it not feel good?”

'It doesn’t feel like anything', Noiz thought to himself bitterly. “There’s just no reason for it right now."

Clear shook his head and looked up at him. "That doesn't mean it's bad to do."

"Doesn't matter. I don't want to be touch, so don’t do it."

Clear looked away again. What was he hiding behind that mask? Hurt? Confusion? Anger? The latter wasn’t likely, but the others were. Not that it really mattered. They were his feelings and he would have to deal with them himself, just like his hand. Both were his own fault, right?

“I know that they need me in there,” Noiz said through the silence, after it had hung too long for his personal comfort in this situation. “I haven’t been able to track Aoba’s coil signal ever since a few days ago, probably right when they went in. Koujaku doesn’t want me in there, but if it gets too long before I can pick them up again on a network, I’m going in.”

Clear finally looked up from his hand. “Really? How long till you will?”

Noiz shrugged. “A few more days. Maybe a week. I’m not sure. I just need to finish this project before I do.”

“Is it for it?” Clear asked as he shuffled a little closer.

“I hope not,” he answered. “It’s something I’ve worked on for a while, but I wanted to make a few adjustments.”

“What is it for?”

“Told you. It’s a secret.”

He could swear he could see a pout through the mask.

“You’re mean.”

Noiz shrugged and sat back down. “It’s just a pre-caution.”

Clear audibly sighed as the other sat back. The man stared at him, contemplating, and then walked over to the balcony. With his good hand he pulled open the screen door, then turned back to wave.

“Good night Noiz! Sleep tight! Don’t let the bed bugs bite!”

Noiz flopped up his hand. “Bye.”

He knew he heard the door slide shut, and he assumed Clear made his leave, but as he quickly drifted off to sleep he wasn’t sure. Though he didn’t particularly care either.

\-----

Noiz sighed as he leaned out over the edge of the balcony. He was tired, but that wasn’t much to say considering that was how he’d felt for a few weeks now.

Over the past days he'd found nothing. He searched every network he could think of and break into. He hacked into central Platinum Jail data bases to find any trace of the two before he got infected with too many security viruses for it to be wise to keep trying. He even went out and tried to ask around for any information he could be over looking. But nothing came up.

He was now regretting his decision to not immediately follow Aoba in the first place, considering how far in he was now.

"Noiz-san, did you find them?”

He shook his head, not looking up at Clear who fell down from above onto the balcony with him. This wasn’t the first time since that one confrontation that the man had mysteriously appeared from the roof above. Noiz still refused to question it. He’d even come to get used to it, the random appearances, the falling from nowhere, he’d even become used to Clear’s company.

Sure, he was extremely overly cheery, but Noiz had to admit, there was some charm to it. He wasn’t exactly the biggest help when he was working. He asked a lot of questions. But when he asked about something that wasn’t confidential, being able to talk about it out loud actually helped him figure out the issues quicker. It was strange, but it worked.

Also Clear, for some reason, decided to cook for him. It was probably smarter to eat more than just pizza and pasta, and the things the man made were good. But but was mostly stuff he wasn’t all that familiar with. Clear had no problem explaining the items to him though.

He had just been nice to have around. It was weird.

“Do you think-”

“I don’t know.” Noiz cut him off as he shrugged and looked over, finding Clear standing right beside him and looking out into the distance. Right at Platinum Jail.

He had been skating around the issue for a while. Ever since Noiz told him that he intended to go in if Aoba and Koujaku didn’t resurface, he found himself worrying if perhaps maybe they had already died, or maybe worse, as he thought about it. He wanted to believe they were just being idiots and weren’t getting into any trouble, but he had no idea.

Clear squeezed his hands together, the fabric of his gloves pulling taut against the skin beneath.

“How’s your hand?” Noiz asked, realizing that neither had mentioned anything about it after the incident.

“Oh, its good. See!” Clear pulled off one of his gloves and held out his hand to Noiz. As he said, his palm looked fine. Noiz couldn’t even see a scar. Then again, he’d never actually gotten to see the cut, so he never really knew how bad it really was. Maybe it’d just been a small scrape since the screwdriver did get caught up in the glove’s fabric. Sometimes those cuts were big bleeders for no good reason.

Noiz nodded, and Clear put the glove back on, and they fell into silence.

“I’m gonna go in tonight.”

Clear gasped and turned to Noiz. “Yay! I’ll go with you!”

“No. I need you to stay here.”

“What? Why?”

Noiz swallowed before he continued. “I have no idea what’s in there. Nothing. I’ve tried to figure out what’s going on, but I don’t have a single clue. I don’t like that. Nothing about this sits well with me, but I don’t want to back out of this now.”

“Then let me help!” Clear begged.

“No, I-… that’s not why I’m asking you to stay.”

“Then why?...”

A few weeks back, this was just annoying. Clear was being whiny and Noiz had to deal with it until it subsided. 

But now, in this moment, he saw something there he didn’t see before. A little kid locked in their room, asking mom why they couldn’t go outside and play. He saw someone who didn’t understand why they couldn't see their little brother anymore. He saw someone who was sorry and wanted to be let out of their room after being in there for so long.

He hated seeing that in someone, but it was a reminder to him not to be like who his parents was.

"Because I need you to hold onto this for me while I'm in there."

Noiz pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to Clear. The man tentatively picked it up and examined it.

"Block..."

Noiz nodded. "It's one of my Allmates. Well, a Betamate, you know, since I've got the main one... eh, not important."

Clear studied the small glowing block with what seemed like intense focus. "But why do you need me to hold onto it?"

"Remember that project I've been working on?"

"The secret one?" Clear ventured as he looked back up, somewhat excited. "Is this the secret right here??"

"Essentially yes," Noiz answered as he leaned against the rail. "But I still can't tell you what it is."

"Will you tell me if I take care of it for you?"

Noiz nodded, to which Clear giggled with glee. "If it doesn't activate while I'm gone, I'll tell you as soon as I get back."

Clear bounced with excitement, holding the block tightly in his hand as he celebrated. Noiz watched in amusement at his response. He was over dramatic, way too sunshiny, and as Noiz was realizing, cute and kinda endearing. He even let a small smile form on his lips as he enjoyed the show of merriment.

But as he let his guard down, he realized Clear was reaching towards him, likely to hug him. Instinct made him raise his arms in defense, but the other stopped himself just before grabbing hold of him.

"Sorry! Sorry! Noiz-san doesn't like to be touched! I'm so sorry! Please don’t be mad at me I was just so excited."

It took Noiz a moment to relax himself to let his arms down. He nodded when he felt calm enough. "It's fine. Just make sure not to lose or damage the Betamate."

Clear made some sound of agreement. He looked back up to Noiz, but the sudden ridge quality to his posture told him that the man realized something.

"What is it?" He asked, not wanting to risk wasting time with Clear becoming hesitant with his words. 

“Um…” Clear rocked on his feet, obviously unsure of what he wanted to say. “The block… what if it does activate? How do I know? What do I do?”

Noiz had kinda hoped he wouldn’t ask that, but this wasn’t something he wanted to be taken lightly. He spoke softly has he answered, “You’ll know when it does. Don’t expect it to, but if it does, I promise you’ll know what to do. Just... please be careful with it. I’m trusting you, to stay here and look after it for me.”

Clear listened intently, nodding slowly as Noiz finished what he had to say.

“Don’t worry,” he said as he took the block and put it into his inner breast pocket. “I’ll take good care of it!”

Noiz let out a breath that he didn’t realize he was holding. “Thank you.”

He swore he could see something behind those creepy glass goggles. Eyes squinting in a smile. A kind face. Someone he could trust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter! Leave a kudos if you want or a comment and tell me what you thought. I love hearing feedback from you guys!
> 
> *Betamate: Noiz's Allmate in itself is weird, since its not a single thing. My headcanon is that the blocks are all essentially a addition to a main one, either to a main block or perhaps something different we're not aware of. I refer to the blocks as Betamates cause that's what makes sense to me. Sorry if it's a bit confusing.
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER SHIT'S GONNA GO DOWN


	3. Wait Until Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes it better to do nothing...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to warn people ahead of time, I will probably be inconsistent with them I get these chapters out. I'm just starting my first year in college, and I have no idea how I'm writing there past chapters so quickly, but I'm assuming it's got something to do with avoiding homework. Either way it's been a really nice way to fill up my time so I don't get into some of the bad sides of college. I have no time outside of classes, homework, writing, and drawing to do much of anything.
> 
> I've been excited to do this chapter ever since I came up with the idea for this fic! My good bud, Asmoulderingmourel (look him up on tumblr he's awesome), helped me come up with most of the concepts of things that happen in this particular one.
> 
> Anyway I hope you enjoy this update!

Forging an invitation through the gate was little trouble. Finding his way around the neon lights and crowds of people wasn’t much of a problem. The tower wasn’t hard to locate and figuring out a way in didn’t take much effort. The private entrance only took a four-digit code to open, obviously a sign of confidence in the overall security of the place. 

Though Noiz wasn’t sure if they were confident in what was guarding outside the tower, or inside. He didn’t want to assume anything, so as he hid in a storage room to hack into the layout of the interior, he refused to let his guard down. That would be stupid.

He just wanted to get in and out with those two as fast as possible, or at the very least, information on their whereabouts or conditions. He hated the idea that he could find them to be dead, but it was too late for any regrets to slow him down or make him decided to turn back early.

Like Noiz had guessed, once inside Oval Tower, he was able to more easily access its networking. Their security blocking any system outside was some of the most complex work he’d ever encountered. They probably figured that if someone had managed to get inside, it was cause they were supposed to be there. Mistake on their part.

As he sat behind a storage bin in the back, Noiz quickly tried to make sense of the floor plans he’d manage to find. They were more extensive then he’d imagined them to be, but he didn’t know what to expect once he got in, so he wasn’t really shocked. He focused on trying to find any traces of security systems for the moment, which as he was realizing, were more than just traces.

What appeared to be high-tech defense bots were stationed on every floor. If you didn’t enter with a passcode, it seemed that you’d trigger them. Noiz wasn’t sure that his back alley entrance would trigger them or not, so he decided to approach the tower with the idea that he would set them off. Better safe than sorry if it wasn’t necessary to get somewhere.

After looking through the floor plans for some time, he sat back and sighed heavily. He could make sense of what everything was telling him, but he didn’t quite understand it all. Many rooms seemed to be dedicated to research and other such things. A few floors were just for robot manufacturing and testing, which he was aware of previously but had no idea how massive it was. Some rooms were labeled “genetic experimentation” which gave him an uneasy feeling and he choose to ignore it for the time being. Nothing about that seemed to be like a good idea.

But as he glanced over the screens of maps he’d brought up from his coil, his eyes fell on one he hadn’t noticed before. It was a lower level section, one of a few underground ones that seemed mostly dedicated for mass storage, but this one he was now looking at he’d seemed to have glossed over before. He was sure he would have paid very close attention to a small chamber labeled “cells”.

———

Clear left before Noiz did. They talked for a long while before he did, mostly about nothing, but it was nice. It was really nice. He wished him luck and said good bye, then he disappeared into the latening night.

It was pitch black outside by the time he made it home, the familiar place he called his own for these years of his existence. It was colder without Grandfather, but it was still home. He just wasn't as inclined to flick on the lights when it got dark outside. He didn't need the it, but it was comforting to turn on the dim bulbs every so often.

Now out of the space of prying eyes, Clear felt okay to take off his mask. Loosening the straps, he pulled it off and took a deep breath of the cool evening air. 

It felt nice, being able to take full breaths of air that weren't uncomfortably warm and feeling the chill of the night caress his skin, but it was never enough for him to go with the mask. He had to be hideous if Grandfather told him never to let someone see him without it. Why else would he have him wear it?

Setting the mask aside, Clear ventured deeper into the house as he pulled out the small item Noiz-san had entrusted him with earlier. He fiddled with it, turning it over and around in his hand, as if he was searching for its secrets on the small surface of the block. The slightly raised surface of the faces on it were all he was able to discover, but it was no matter. When Noiz came back, he'd tell him everything about it.

With a hum and a smile, Clear set the block on a dresser in his room, amidst his collection of glass and shiny things. It was so small, nearly getting lost amongst the other trinkets and treasures, but Clear could see it. Noiz asked him to watch it, and he would do that with his life.

So as he sat on his bed, he readied himself for Noiz to come back. He had to come soon, but if not, then Clear would just wait longer. Him and Aoba and Koujaku all back home. They could have a party or something maybe.

He just had to wait now, like he promised Noiz he would, away from the eyes of the world with only himself and the block.

———

Noiz knew this could easily be a bad idea.

If these were indeed jail cells, or any kind of cage for that matter, there had to be some form of surveillance for them. He hadn’t been able to note any on the map, but there was a sinking feeling in his stomach that there might be something. Even though he figured out a route that wasn’t monitored by anything, which hadn’t been easy by any means, he felt watched the entire time. It was extremely unsettling, but he was too far in now to try and turn back.

If he was being followed, then he’d just have to deal with that. He couldn’t detect any reasonable evidence that someone was tailing him, and trying to call them out would just give him away. He had to ignore whatever he was sensing and chalk it up to paranoia.

When Noiz got to the door that led down to the chamber, he found it locked, again with a simple 4-digit combo. He didn't want to take any chances, so he quickly decoded the lock and slipped inside. The door closed a little louder then he'd hoped it would, but he was still inside. At least he had that.

Letting out a breath he'd been holding ever sense he first started working on the lock, he looked out into what he had walked into. Cold, bare walls and a staircase down into who-the-hell-knew-what greeted him. Of course that only piked his curiosity more, but he carefully walked down all the same. It was eerie.

The map wasn't kidding when it said “cells", as at the bottom of the stairs there was just a line of cells along the other wall. It wasn't too long, maybe five or six, but they were definitely designed to hold people.

Intuition told Noiz to call out to what might be there, since he couldn't see what was in the other cells, but instincts made him quiet. He still felt like there were eyes on him, watching his every move. It was a vulnerability he wasn't at all cool with.

His careful steps echoed quietly throughout the chamber. His imagination began to run ramped, making him wonder just what might've be hidden in these cells. What in the world would this corporation need such a chamber for? Hidden deep within the faculty, behind a locked door, what secrets did they have to conceal?

As he walked by one of the far cells, he caught a glimpse of something inside. Slumped against the back wall was something that resembled a person. Noiz's stomach clenched in anticipation but he looked closer anyway.

"...Koujaku?"

Peeking his head as far in as he could, he began to recognize that indeed it was him. Though his kimono was dirtied and tattered around him and he looked like utter shit, it was undoubtably him. The man seemed unconscious, head bowed as his body was slumped against the wall. Noiz was thankful he could see the rise and fall of his chest. If not, he would have feared he might have been dead.

He tried to stay hushed as he yelled, "Koujaku. Koujaku! Damn it old man wake up!"

Noiz was tempted to throw something at him, but as he tried to rouse him, he realized that Koujaku was bound in chains. What he thought was his neck brace was actually a thick collar, attached to the wall with a chain that looked more fit for a bear then a man. The way his arms were positioned behind his back looked like nothing someone unconscious would do. His shoulders jutted out in a way that was clear there was something binding his arms behind him, probably not comfortably either.

"Oh shit..." Noiz whispered to himself as he backed off from the cell's bars. 

This was nuts. What the hell was going on? He knew Koujaku, and the man he was looking at looked like he’d been beaten an inch from his life and left in here to die. The more Noiz looked at it all, the worse it all became. He hadn't noticed the blood everywhere. On the wall, on the ground, covering everything in violent splotches. Was it from Koujaku, or someone else?

Where the fuck was Aoba?

"Koujaku! Damn it you-"

"Don't move."

——— 

Clear was good at waiting, but he was very impatient when he was curious. He told himself to just leave the block alone, but he couldn't do it. It was so small amongst the bottles, yet it stuck out so easily, tempting him to fiddle and prod.

That was how Clear had ended up on the floor, playing with it again, turning it over and over, as if he looked at a certain angle a certain way enough times it would trigger it to impart its secrets. The likelihood of that working was so utterly small, but it didn’t hurt to try.

“Come on,” Clear said to the block as he gently pressed on the raised face surfaces again, thinking perhaps that it would spring to life if he urged it enough. “I just want to know what you do. I promise, I won’t tell Noiz-san that you told me! I’ll keep it a secret that you told me the secret!”

But the block remained dim and lifeless, the soft glow he’d once seen in it on Noiz’s pant loop never returned. It saddened Clear that he couldn’t get it to turn on, but he was fine with it. Noiz had said that it was unlikely for it to activate, and by the way he made it seem, perhaps it was better off that it did stay off. He still wanted to know what it did.

With a defeated huff, he knelt before the dresser and returned the block to its designated place. He hovered there for a bit, staring fixated at it. He wanted so bad to know what it did.

“We’ll just wait for Noiz-san. He’ll be back really soon. We just have to wait."

——— 

Noiz's words died on his tongue. His motion to grab the bars halted in his tracks, barely having him making a reach for them. He couldn't move, not an inch. He couldn't even look over to the voice that had so calmly told him to stop. He couldn't feel it, but he knew his heart was racing in his chest, adrenaline pumping in his panic. What was this?

When the person had come in, he didn't know, but Noiz could just barely here them walk down the stairwell. Their steps were so soft, more like whoever it was was gliding down them. Ever hushed echos seemed to come closer and closer to him ever so slowly, no rush, no sense of urgency. They knew exactly what was going on.

Noiz couldn't take his eyes off of Koujaku, who still hadn't stirred, even when he had fallen into panic and started to yell loudly for a brief moment before being cut off. He hated this, not being able to move. He didn’t understand it. He knew the other was close, their footsteps walking around him, just out of his field of vision.

He sensed a shadow in the corner of his eye before he heard them calmly whisper, "How nice of you... holding so still for me..."

It was eerie, but there was something about it that was familiar. He'd heard it before, but it wasn't right. He wished with every fiber of himself that he could look around and see who was there, but he couldn't even blink.

"Now what is someone like you doing all the way down here with my Koujaku, hm?"

My Koujaku? Who the hell was this guy? Did he do this to Koujaku? What was going on? He sounded like... no, it couldn't be. That was crazy. This was crazy.

Noiz heard him chuckle softly again, which seemed to rouse the man before him. Koujaku grunted and shifted, and for a brief moment Noiz let himself hope that he'd wake up and maybe tell him what happened, or what was going on. But just as quickly as he was stirred did Koujaku settle back into unconsciousness.

"Tch, I don't like it when people disturb my Koujaku," the man whispered, so close to him that Noiz knew if he could actually feel things he could maybe feel the ghost of his lips against his ear. "He's mine, you understand that?"

There was a quiet sound, the smooth familiar scrape of metal, and surely it wasn't Noiz making it. The guy, he had a knife. If he was the one who trapped Koujaku here, did this to him, and if he did something to Aoba, then Noiz didn't doubt for a second what that blade was for. The man was a maniac.

"All mine..."

There was a soft thud, and Noiz's body shook a little, and his side felt weird.

"Have I made myself clear yet?"

The guy, he stabbed him, and Noiz couldn't do anything but stand there. This was what pure fear felt like, not having any control what so ever, fate in the hands of a maniac with a knife and a whacked vendetta. There was also the sick feeling that he knew this was supposed to hurt, bad. But it didn't. He could barely feel it at all. Why didn't it hurt? Why couldn't he feel it?

"How does it feel?" The man cooed, like sweet nothings to a lover in the late evening. "I bet it hurts so insanely bad. Mmm, do you wanna cry and beg for mercy? Do you want me to make it stop? I bet you do. Does the feeling of your blood running down you make you feel sick? It's a shame you can't do anything about it. It would be fun to hear you scream, but I'm just having so much fun already, so why stop now."

Noiz couldn't feel it, not really. He could feel that weird feeling slowly multiplying along his torso, the maniac stabbing him over and over, thinking that he was trapping him in agony. He didn't know at all the kind of torment he was really putting him through. 

Each time there was a shiver in his vision, it was a reminder that he couldn't even imagine the sensation of a hug. With every tease at his assumed pain, he thought about how he couldn't feel the touch of another through his clothes, on his skin. As he knew more of his blood was split and likely pooling at his feet, he remembered how distant it made him feel that he no real idea what warmth was.

The pain of this ordeal would hurt so much less then this did.

"Oh, you are an interesting one..."

Noiz couldn't take it anymore, but he couldn't do anything about it. Nothing. All he could do was stand there and wait for the man to finish. He was so overwhelmed with fear that he couldn't even feel the slight things he could before. 

The weird feelings in his torso, whenever the man stabbed him, were long gone. He just knew he was still doing it. All he could really feel was a distinct fuzziness in his head that had to be from the blood loss. He'd never felt it this majorly before. Once he was able to move on his own, he doubted he'd be able to stand.

"Hm... I'm bored with you. You can move now.”

As if a puppeteer had cut his strings, Noiz collapsed to the floor, splashing into the puddle of his own blood. The scent of iron filled his nostrils and coated his tongue. He felt so dizzy from the blood loss that he could barely make sense of things. Even though he was free, he couldn’t move, exhausted and disoriented, even though he knew that if he didn’t do something…

Something white suddenly came into his vision. A boot stepped into the puddle, quickly becoming stained crimson wherever the blood graced it. With as much effort as he could muster, Noiz turned his head to look up. Before his blurry vision could completely give out on him, he managed to catch a glimpse of the maniac. Completely white, like a ghost, wrapped in snowy robes stained in blood. His blood. Why was he covered in it? How violent had he been?

But his face, something about it felt so familiar, but the blood loss was making it so hard for Noiz to even stay conscious. He knew the fight was for nothing, but he refused to give up. Koujaku needed him, and Aoba, if he was still alive, he needed him too. Even as everything was becoming dim, he reached for the man’s leg, a feudal attempt to pull him down. The man seemed to be amused by it, as he chuckled to himself with a sly smile.

“Aw, look how cute you are, you little brat…”

——— 

Waiting was not fun. Clear found himself sitting on the edge of the bed he rarely used, unable to figure out anything to do besides stare at the block. He wanted to see it turn on the moment it did, if it did at all. Though it was hard, for his attention span was rather short, but he told himself to be strong. 

In all honesty, he really wanted to go into Platinum Jail and find Noiz. It couldn’t be all that hard. He’d found his apartment after all. Surely just finding him couldn’t be that tricky. He just had to listen for him. But he promised Noiz that he’d stay and watched his block, and he didn’t want to go back on his promise. 

So Clear sat there, rocking back and forth on the mattress, trying to figure out something to do to keep him occupied until Noiz came back.

As he lost himself in thought, he failed to immediately see that there was something beginning to illuminate in front of him. When it caught his attention, he quickly leaped from the bed and picked up the block, gently holding the softly glowing object in his hands.

“Hi!” Clear said to it, waiting with great enthusiasm to see what it would say, or what it would do. It was just so exciting and cool. He was going to get to figure out what the secret thing was that Noiz had made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, cliffhangers, I'm such a piece of shit, but that's what makes these things so agonizingly great to read! So I hope you will manage to forgive me and stick around for the next update. 
> 
> Leave a kudos if you liked it or leave a comment telling me what you thought about it. I love to hear your thoughts and input.


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